Wellington  - New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark on Friday condemned the detention of British and American diplomats in Zimbabwe as "completely unacceptable."

"This appears to be yet another example of the Robert Mugabe regime's campaign of intimidation and violence which has led to the targeted killing of 53 opposition members by groups linked to the ruling ZANU-PF party and the Zimbabwe government," she said.

Noting also the detention of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Clark said, "The intimidating actions by Zimbabwean security forces demonstrates the length which [President] Mugabe and ZANU-PF are prepared to go to hold onto power."

She also deplored moves to suppress the ability of non- governmental organizations (NGOs) to operate freely, saying they had helped keep the international community informed about the scale of the crisis in Zimbabwe.

"Suppressing NGO activity is a cynical attempt to hide the atrocities that ZANU-PF is committing," Clark said. "It is crucial that NGOs are allowed full freedom to provide essential humanitarian assistance to the Zimbabwean people." (dpa)